On that North Korean guy that got stripped of the medals

Kim Jong-su of North Korea was stripped of the gold medal after testing positive for drugs.  Here’s the full report in the UK’s Guardian.

Now, I like ragging on North Korea as much as anyone.  And I have much sympathy for Kim Jong-su, since he’s the one who has to face Kim Jong-Il and tell him he lost them two medals.  This will not end well.

But seriously, the man tested positive for drugs, and he was competing in pistol and air pistol events.

How can drugs help you in those events?  Does beta-blocker propranolol give you an increased sense of aim, or what?  In what way is it a performance enhancer?  I can understand kicking people off for testing positive for steroids, but I’m hardpressed to think of any drugs that can possibly improve your performance in pistol and air pistol.

2 thoughts on “On that North Korean guy that got stripped of the medals

  1. I Googled Propranolol, read what it does, then looked up all the big words. ^_^ In my non-professional opinion, I think he’s in trouble because it stops the effects of adrenaline. There’s a chance that he was calmer than the other competitors because of the drug.

    They could have just said that in the article, instead of just including a snarky quote from an IOC official.

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